Sanciangco vs.

Rono
GR No. L-68709 July 19, 1985
Facts:
Sanciangco was elected Barangay Captain of Barangay Sta. Cruz,
Ozamiz City in the May 1982 elections. Later, he was elected
President of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) of Ozamiz
City by the Board of Directors of ABC, and as president, he was
appointed by the President of the Philippines as a member of the
City's Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Sanciangco filed his Certificate of Candidacy for the May 1984
Batasan pambansa elections for Misamis Occidental under the
banner of the Mindanao Alliance, he was not successful.
Sanciangco informed Vice-Mayor Fuentes, the Presiding Officer of
the Sangguniance Panlungsod, that he was resuming his duties as
member of that body. The matter was elevated to respondent
Minister of Local Government Jose A. Rono who ruled that since
petitioner is an appointive official, he is deemed to have resigned
from his appointive position upon the filing of his Certificate of
Candidacy.
Issue:
Whether an appointive member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, who ran for
the position of Mambabatas Pambansa in the May 14, 1984 elections, should
be considered as resigned or on forced leave of absence upon the filing of
his Certificate of Candidacy
Held:
Sanciangco is deemed to have resigned from his position.
Section 13(2) of BP 697 states that upon filing a certificate of
candidacy, governors, mayors, and members of various sanggunians
or barangay officials shal be considered on forced leave of absence
from office. Section 13(1) refers to people holding public appointive
positions, who shall cease to hold office upon the filing of his
certificate of candidacy.
There is no question that Sanciangco holds a public appointive
position. Since Sanciangco is unquestionably an appointive member
of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Ozamiz City, he is deemed to
have ipso facto ceased to be such member when he filed his
certificate of candidacy for the May 14, 1984 Batasan elections.
He cannot be deemed to be removed from office without due
process of law since it was of his own choice that he ran for a seat in
the Batasan Pambansa. The consequence that followed his
unsuccessful attempt at the elections arose from law.
Although he ceased to be an appointive member of the Sangguniang
Panlungsod, he remains an elective Barangay Captain from which

position he may be considered as having been on "forced leave of

absence." He also continues as President of the Association of
Barangay Councils but will need a reappointment by the President,
as member of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Ozamiz City as the
law speaks of "members who may be appointed by the President."
Separate Opinion (Teehankee):
He has correctly submitted that the law makes no distinction
between elective or appointive sanggunian members. He should also
have been deemed to have been on forced leave of absence and not
forced resigned from the Sanggunian. The basic position of
barangay captain and ABC president held by him are essentially
elective. He cannot fall under Section 13(l) of the Act which refers to
purely appointive officials, including active officers and members of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines and officials and employees of
government-owned and controlled corporations, under the statutory
construction rule of noscitur a sociis.